Don't get popped!

Folks can ring in the New Year with parties, drinks and song, but Port Aransas police and firefighters want everyone to remember that setting off fireworks inside the Port Aransas city limits is illegal.

"It seems like every year, either the Fourth of July, or New Year's Eve, we have at least one grass fire related to fireworks," said James Stokes, acting chief of the Port Aransas Police Department.

"Most of them occur in populated areas - in vacant lots between homes," Stokes said. "It doesn't take long for grass to start burning and endanger a habitation. It can get bad real fast."

Possession of fireworks is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500.

Police, deputies and firefighters will patrol Port Aransas streets, looking for people setting off fireworks, according to Stokes, Nueces County Precinct 4 Constable Bobby Sherwood and Port Aransas Volunteer Fire Department Chief Scott Mack.

People found with fireworks will have them confiscated and could be cited or let off with a warning, Stokes said.

Everything from smoke bombs to rockets can be considered fireworks, Stokes said.

"Technically, even sparklers are considered fireworks," he said. "We're not going to be real hard on little kids with sparklers. But we are pretty concerned about the ones that go, 'boom.' "

It's illegal to set off fireworks not only in neighborhoods but also on Port Aransas beaches, Stokes said. Fireworks that land in dunes can spark grass fires that could endanger homes, especially if the wind is blowing, he said.

Sherwood said it's illegal also to shoot off fireworks beyond Port Aransas beaches, all the way down Mustang Island and in the part of Padre Island that lies inside Nueces County.

Shooting off fireworks is illegal within the Corpus Christi city limits, which run into the Port Aransas city limits on Mustang Island.

Fireworks are illegal inside the Aransas Pass city limits, which extend down Harbor Island to abut the city limits of Port Aransas.

Aransas Pass Police Chief Darrell Jones said his officers will patrol his town's streets, on the lookout for people setting off fireworks. However, he said, police will allow folks to set off fireworks on the portion of Harbor Island that lies inside the Aransas Pass city limits.

"That's what we have set aside, that part of the city limits, because it's on the water," Jones said. "We'd rather people do it out there, where it's near the water, rather than have houses catch on fire."